1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an operation control of an electronic device, and more particularly to an apparatus and a method for controlling an operation of an electronic device using a proximity input or a touch input.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the improvement of performance of electronic devices, recently developed electronic devices provide more than a single function. For example, a portable terminal such as a smart phone has provided numerous functions such as a multimedia player function, an electronic book reader function, a word processor function, a game player function, and the like.
According to a current trend in the electronic devices, the recent electronic devices have generally employed a touch screen, and a user has controlled various operations of the electronic devices through touch inputs on a display screen including a touch screen function. For example, the user executes a certain application through the touch inputs, or requests access to certain data (for example, identifying of a document data).
On the other hand, the related art classifies touch inputs into a 1) direct touch input, in which a touch input instrument, for example, a touch pen or a part of a user's body such as a finger, is in contact with a display screen, for example a touch screen, and 2) a proximity input in which the touch input instrument is not in contact with the display screen. The related art has provided a function of controlling an operation of an electronic device according to the direct touch input and the proximity input.
However, the related art has a problem in that it has provided only the simple function of distinctively controlling the operation of the electronic device according to the direct touch input and the proximity input, but has not provided a function of controlling the operation of the electronic device in a more convenient and useful manner using the proximity input.